At Google I/O in May, we previewed some new and powerful tools to help you further grow your business and improve decision making based on smarter insights on Google Play. We are happy to announce that, today, these features are live in the Developer Console.

User Acquisition: AdWords Campaigns

With just a few simple steps, universal app campaigns lets you easily set up ad campaigns from within the Google Play Developer Console and promote your app across Google Play, Google Search, YouTube and the Google Display Network. You will now be able to more effectively find and grow your install base with the help of Google’s unparalleled reach.

App install ads generated from one universal app campaign

Universal app campaigns automatically pull in images, video, and descriptions from your Google Play store listing to generate ad formats that look great wherever they are placed. From there, our systems automatically optimize your campaigns and experiment with different creatives and bids to maximize app install volume as close as possible to your target cost-per-install.

"With universal app campaigns, we only had to set up one campaign that drove more than 10,000 new installs in one month and install volume is continuing to trend up over time. We're also seeing a 20% lower CPI compared to other channels." – José Maria Pertusa, CMO of Linio

To get started with your first campaign, select the User Acquisition tab for your app in the Developer Console and choose ‘AdWords Campaigns.’

User Acquisition: Performance report

When you’re growing an audience for your app, you’ll want to understand where your most valuable users are coming from. The new performance report on the User Acquisition tab in the Developer Console lets you see how people are finding your Play Store listing, how many install your app, and how many go on to make purchases.

The performance report also tracks marketing links tagged with UTM tags, so you’ll be able to get more granular detail on how well your promotion is doing. Once you’ve got visitors to your Play Store listing, you’ll want to start thinking of ways to increase the number of visitors turning into installers. The new Store Listing Experiments feature can help you run A/B tests to do just that.

How to get started in the Developer Console

To learn how to take advantage of these new features in the Developer Console, watch the DevByte video below in which I explain how to set up your first universal app campaign and how to view the new data offered on the performance tab.

We hope you’ll use these user acquisition tools to grow a valuable audience for your app or game. We continue to improve our features for developers based on your feedback – like the recent improvements to beta testing and Store Listing Experiments – in order to help you grow your app or game business globally on Google Play.